President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to hand over all evidence from their probe into anomalous flood control projects to the Ombudsman. This accompanies the agencies' recommendation to file plunder, graft, and bribery charges against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and former congressman Zaldy Co. The Ombudsman's decision will be based on evidence from contracts and testimonies.
On November 21, 2025, in Manila, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. released a video message through the Presidential Communications Office, ordering the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to turn over all evidence gathered from their three-month probe into anomalous flood control works to the Ombudsman. Marcos stated, 'Once all the evidence is reviewed, the Ombudsman may file plunder, anti-graft, or indirect bribery charges. The Ombudsman simply follows where the evidence leads.'
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon listed potential violations: plunder under Republic Act 7080; violations of Sections 3(A), (B), (E), and (H) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; and direct bribery under Article 210 of the Revised Penal Code. The recommendations stem from contracts of Sunwest Inc. and Hi-Tone Construction spanning 2016 to 2025, as well as sworn testimony from retired Sgt. Orly Guteza, Co's former security aide, who testified to delivering luggage filled with money to the residences of Romualdez and Co, based on Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearings.
Romualdez, Marcos' first cousin and former House Speaker until September 2025, resigned amid the flood control fund scandal. Co, former chair of the House appropriations committee and ex-Ako Bicol representative, has been overseas since July 2025 and resigned from Congress; he is also the subject of the first flood control corruption case filed with the Sandiganbayan. A previous report revealed Co's Sunwest won billions in DPWH contracts in Romualdez's Leyte district.
The ICI, an ad hoc body created by Marcos to investigate a decade of infrastructure projects, highlighted the siphoning of billions in pesos for flood control. In September, Marcos vowed no exemptions, even for Romualdez. Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, Marcos' former justice secretary, indicated cases against Romualdez could be filed within six to nine months.
